Becoming a True Duelist
by pigeonsaurus
Summary: After defeating the Rare Hunter Seeker and earning Joey's Red-Eyes back, Yugi tries to give it back to him, but Joey refuses, saying he would earn it back. With the Battle City Tournament behind them, Marik defeated and his dark half banished to the Shadow Realm, all seems calm once again. But both Yugi and Joey know they have one thing left to do. One-Shot.


_I've always wanted to write a Yu-gi-oh! story. Duels can be very difficult to write, and very time consuming if you don't know what you're doing. The idea of this was inspired from a Youtube video._

 _This is the only way I saw the Duel between Yugi and Joey after the Battle City Finals playing out, and I just had to flesh it out. It would be such an amazing duel, and a great way to end the season, but I suppose I understand why they didn't show it and left that sense of mystery hanging in the air._

 _The original video this is based off is by a Youtuber with the username PZner Tiger._

" _ **DUEL"**_

The sky was still dark, but the blue color was starting to tint the sky as the sun peaked over the high buildings of Domino City. Most were sleeping soundly in their beds - a normal morning to many. It was the hour before alarms would start going off, people would start their morning routines and prepare for work or school. The morning people would be up before their alarm, shuffling to the bathroom or kitchen to start the day. And those who didn't agree with the rising sun would hit the snooze button to try and catch a few more minutes of wonderful rest.

However, in the apartment building located above a game shop named the Kame Game Shop, a lone light was shining, cutting through the morning's slowly fading darkness. The light was on the room at the very top of the building, located at its third floor. Inside was a lone boy, the clean bedroom put together with hardly any mess and bed made as if it hadn't even been slept in at all.

His body facing the desk while his hands were occupied, purple eyes looked down at the playing cards in his hands. A deck containing sixty cards was now firmly put together, and with confidence, the boy finally put the deck with its brown backing facing up on the desktop. Scattered on the desk was the only mess in the room - a handful of other cards that didn't quite make the cut.

 _"It sure is nice to be home,"_ a voice spoke, seemingly out of nowhere as the boy put his deck down onto the desk. Standing up from the seat he was sitting in, he stood and let out a sigh.

"Yes," the boy spoke, his voice deeper than the other voice that had spoken. "But we can't rest yet." Looking beside him, a silhouette appeared. The silhouette was Yugi Muto, the inhabitant of the body. Resembling a younger version of the boy who was standing in the room, his eyes were more innocent, cheeks more rounder and hair not quite as wild, he smiled up at his partner. Holding out a transparent hand, it was clutching a card in it, and the boy looked at it, his eyes falling on the sparkling holographic art. The card depicted a skinny, black dragon with eyes red as blood.

"Joey's Red-Eyes," Yugi elaborated, and the older boy nodded. The two shared a serious glance, knowing exactly what they had to do. The necklace on the chain around the boy's neck began to glow, the gold pyramid's eye shimmering with an ancient light that enveloped the boy's body, and in a matter of moments, Yugi stood, dressed in his school uniform, opened to reveal a black tank top underneath.

Eyes traveling to his bed, he saw his Duel Disk sitting atop the comforter, and snatched it up, equipping the machine to his left wrist before grabbing his deck and belt and sneaking downstairs.

The lights were still off on both the second and ground floor, and Yugi crept as quietly as he could, being careful to avoid all the tiles and floorboards that he knew would creak from his childhood. Easily getting to the inside of the game shop, linoleum barely shimmering from the sun peeking out from between the buildings, the King of Games snuck to the front door. _I can't wake Grandpa,_ Yugi thought, his hand on the door handle as he turned behind him to see if anyone had followed him on his way down the stairs.

Clicking the lock, he prepared to pull it open when a voice cut through the silence, causing the timid boy to jump. "Yugi?" The shaky voice belonged to Yugi's grandfather, and as Yugi turned around, he saw the old man clutching his stiff back with one arm and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the other. Still dressed in his turquoise pajamas, he wore a matching nightcap over his spiky gray hair. "Where are you going this early in the morning?"

"Just... taking a walk, Grandpa," Yugi replied quickly. Well, it wasn't a _complete_ lie. "I promise, I won't be long. All right?"

"All right," his grandfather agreed, looking at him with puffy purple eyes. "Come back soon, please. I don't want you skipping breakfast." A smile curled Yugi's mouth, and the teen smiled in agreement before turning around and heading out the door.

Turning the corner, Yugi knew exactly where he was heading to, and though he was nervous, he was excited all at the same time. But his confidence didn't waver because of this either, and his footsteps showed this. Walking a few blocks, it seemed that with each step he took, the higher the sun got in the sky. Though crisp, cold moisture filled the air from the lingering morning dew, it wasn't particularly cold with the blue jacket over his body.

Feet taking him without thinking, he rounded a building a few blocks away from his house and walked down an alleyway, void of any cars or people to get in his way. A lone cat, a stray he had seen wandering around here and there, jumped from its resting position on a trashcan at the sight of the spiky hair boy and disappeared in between a building. _Battle City's not over yet,_ Yugi thought to himself, serious eyes looking ahead at the shadowed figure standing ahead in the middle of the alleyway, colors blocked out from the sun behind him. The figure looked as if it had been waiting for a fight, and had turned into a statue from the frigid night. _I have one thing left to do..._

Dressed in a similar blue outfit as the approaching boy, a serious look hardened the normally upbeat face of Joey Wheeler. His blond hair was kept and straightened, and like Yugi, his school jacket was opened, revealing a white t-shirt underneath. _Time to see how far I've_ really _come,_ Joey thought as he saw his friend approaching.

As purple eyes locked with brown ones, both boys were thinking of their past adventures: how Yugi had stood up to the bully beating up Joey and Tristan at their first meeting, to the time that Joey jumped into the water when Weevil Underwood threw Yugi's Exodia cards into the water. And then their adventures in Duelist Kingdom when Yugi had helped Joey sharpen his dueling skills. Thoughts of their recent events at Battle City also filled their heads, from how Yugi obtained Joey's Red-Eyes B. Dragon back from the Rare Hunter Seeker by defeating him in a Duel, but Joey refused it, saying to think of him when Yugi would use it.

Clutching his school jacket, he pulled off the blue fabric with one fell sweep, and the Millennium Puzzle around his neck began to glow for just an instant. In that brief second, Yugi once again changed, growing into the older boy who sat in his room just a half an hour before. Tying the top button around his neck, the jacket blew off his shoulders like a cape, and lean, toned arms waved with confidence with each stride he took forward.

Finally stopping with enough room between the two, Yami's eyes looked down at the Duel Disk on Joey's wrist before looking back up. "We made it, Joey," he spoke up in his deep voice, a smile spreading across his face. "But there's still one thing left to do; I still have something of yours."

"Yup!" Joey responded, a similar smile appearing on his own as he pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket. "And it's time fur' me ta' earn it back, pal."

Retrieving his own Deck from his deck box attached to his studded belt, he held it firmly between his fingers. "You're on."

The sun was now lighting up the alleyway, reflecting off the windows around them and revealing the hosts inside preparing for the day. "All the battles I've been through in 'dis tournament, ' _dis_ one means the most." Holding up his wrist, Joey's Duel Disk activated, the two wings on the side popping out and meeting together at the top, and then shifting to one side before lighting up. "You betta' watch out: you taught me everything you _know_ about Dueling!"

"Almost," Yami retorted confidently, holding up his own wrist as his Duel Disk copied Joey's movements and activated. Both participants sticking their Decks in the deck slot of the machines, the devices lit up, the screen showing '4000' in the center of the disk as they drew their opening hands.

"Let's Duel!"

"Let's Duel!"

 **Yugi:** 4000

 **Joey:** 4000

Looking at his opening hand, Yugi smirked and looked across the battlefield. "Joey, why don't we make things interesting?" he suggested, and though Joey said nothing, he looked at Yugi with interest sparkling in his eyes. "Let's double our Life Points: Double or nothing."

The suggestion was oozing with pride, but Joey smiled at it. "All or nothin'. I like the sound o' that!" Both of them pressed a button on the underneath of their Duel Disks, and their Life Points shot up, starting the scenario of a full Duel.

 **Yugi:** 8000

 **Joey:** 8000

"I'll make the first move, Joey," Yugi declared, looking at his opening hand. "And with it, I'll summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts! In Defense Mode!" Before him, a holographic, giant version of the card he placed upon the front of his Duel Disk appeared, and above the card in shimmering light, a creature that looked like a lion with a horn upon its head appeared, crouching down defensively (ATK/1500 DEF/1200). "With that, I'll end my turn."

"'Den it's my turn! Draw!" Joey declared, pulling a card from the top of his deck. Glancing at his hand, a smile pulled on the corners of his mouth and he plucked a card. "I summon Axe Raider!" Placing the card down on the Duel Disk, a bulky humanoid wearing gold and red armor sporting a long purple ponytail underneath his helmet appeared (ATK/1700 DEF/1150). "Now my monsta's gonna attack! Go, Axe Raider!" Gripping with massive axe in his hand, Axe Raider charged forward, clutching it with both hands and raising it into the air. "Axe Crash!" Another grunt was let out, this time in the form of a battle cry as Joey's monster brought it down upon Gazelle. The monster let out a defeated snarl as it was sliced in half and shattered into pixels.

Taking another look at his hand, Joey's eyes locked on a Trap card and smiled at Yami before pulling another one and placing both in the bottom slots of his Duel Disk. "You're gonna haveta try better 'den 'dat ta' beat me, Yuge! I set two cards and end my turn."

"Not bad, Joey," Yugi replied, and even though his monster was destroyed, he had a smile on his face as he ripped the top card from his deck and added it to his hand. "It's my turn!" Adding the card to his hand, he pulled a Spell card from his hand and activated it. "I activate a Spell Card: Monster Reborn!" A large holographic image of the card appeared in front of him, and a sparkling vortex of light shimmered out of the card art. "With it, I bring back the defeated Gazelle in attack mode!" Out of the vortex, a golden light shimmered, and quickly formed into the lion-like monster that had just been destroyed by Joey's Axe Raider (ATK/1500 DEF/1200).

A red light formed around his monster, however, and Yugi soon pulled the card off his Duel Disk and placed it back in his Graveyard. "But he's not staying for long, for I sacrifice him in order to summon Summoned Skull!" The red light enveloped Gazelle's body, and it soon turned purple as Gazelle disappeared and a new monster appeared. This one was large and demon-like, sporting no skin but an armor of bone over purple muscle. Two large wings sprouted from its back, and it gave a panther-like snarl as the light faded (ATK/2500 DEF/1200).

Joey's eyes widened slightly as he stared at the monster, but gave no further reaction as Yugi moved onto his Battle Phase. "Summoned Skull, strike Joey's monster down!" Electricity danced across Summoned Skull's upper body, and it let out another snarl before lilac-colored lightning shot off its shoulders and head and into the air. "Lightning Strike!"

"I activate my face-down card!" Joey declared, pressing a button on the edge of his Duel Disk. At that moment, one of the images of the cards at his feet rose up, and Yami's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Oh, no!"

"Trap Hole of Spikes!" Joey announced this as a deep hole appeared underneath the Archfiend monster. In the middle of its attack, Summoned Skull was caught off-guard, and plummeted into the hole, where bubbling acid was sitting at the bottom. But in the end, it was actually the many spikes sticking out of the acid that impaled the Pharaoh's monster and caused it to shatter into pixels. "As you know, Trap Hole of Spikes can only be activated when a monsta' 'dat was Summoned 'dis turn attacks, and destroys it," he explained. "But it also causes you to lose Life Points equal 'ta _half_ of your monsta's attack points."

 **Yugi:** 6750

 **Joey:** 8000

Grimacing slightly as his Life Points went down, Yugi stared ahead as the chasm from Joey's Trap disappeared, and then smiled. "That was an excellent move, Joey," he said, trying to hide the pride in his voice. "I set a card face-down and end my turn." As the large image of the brown-backed card appeared at his feet, Joey drew.

"Draw!" Pulling from the top of his deck, he added the card to his hand and pulled another one. "Aw'right, I summon Alligator's Sword!" A card appeared, and from the card, a reptile with green and yellow scales wearing spiked armor of black with red trimming appeared, wielding a long sword. "In attack mode!" (ATK/1500 DEF/1200) "Axe Raider, attack Yugi directly!" Bounding forward, Yami looked on helplessly as the holographic axe passed through him, letting out a cry as his Life Points were lowered.

 **Yugi:** 5050

 **Joey:** 8000

"Next up, Alligator's Sword! Attack Yugi's Life Points directly!" With a nimble leap into the air, Joey's humanoid alligator monster raised its sword into the air before swinging it down. From the weapon, a yellow energy blade shot out and struck the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.

 **Yugi:** 3550

 **Joey:** 8000

The only sound that could be heard as the smoke cleared was the chains from the Millennium Puzzle rattling from the wind as Yugi recovered from the blow. "Don't hold back on me, Yuge," Joey told him sternly. As Yami looked up and met his friend's eyes, he could see his face was hardened like stone. "I'm not gonna hold back, so you shouldn't either."

 _He's right,_ Yami thought, using the body's voice as he thought. _I shouldn't hold back. It is an insult to Joey and his skills._ Giving a nod to show that he heard Joey's opinion and understood them, Joey responded with his own.

"I end my turn."

"Then it's my turn!" Yami shouted, ripping the top card from his deck. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack mode!" Golden light appearing from the ground, a yellow monster - resembling a child's play toy - appeared. A magnet sprouted from both its hands and the sides of its heads like red and blue horns (ATK/1700 DEF/1600). "Beta, destroy Alligator's Sword!"

Putting its magnetic hands together in front of it, electricity appeared in between the magnets and fired out at the reptile monster. The electricity hit and surrounded Alligator's Sword before it was obliterated.

 **Yugi:** 3550

 **Joey:** 7800

Once the card was put in the Graveyard slot of Joey's Duel Disk, Yugi ended his turn. "My turn! Draw!" Mulling over his cards for a moment, Joey pulled another monster from his hand. "I summon... Panther Warrior!" Before him, a large image of the orange card appeared and the artwork on the card began to glow white. From the white light, a purple panther standing upright like a human and wearing blue and gold armor with a flowing green cape jumped out and assumed a battle position; a massive sword in one paw and a shield covering the other (ATK/2000 DEF/1600). "In attack mode!"

Purple eyes looked between the monsters and their owner for just a moment, knowing exactly what Joey planned on doing. "Panther Warrior can only attack if I sacrifice a monsta', so I Tribute Axe Raider so Panther Warrior can attack!" As he said this, Axe Raider started to glow red, and he quickly deformed into complete energy. The energy then surrounded the panther-like monster's sword. "Attack Beta the Magnet Warrior!" With a fierce cry, Panther Warrior jumped at the Rock Monster ahead of him, bringing his sword down and cutting it in half before jumping back.

 **Yugi:** 3250

 **Joey:** 7800

"I end my turn."

With that, Yugi silently pulled the top card from his deck. He looked at it briefly before placing it down on the field. "I Set a Monster and end my turn."

Joey drew at the start of his turn, and after adding the card to his hand, he pressed a button on the bottom of his Duel Disk. "I activate my face-down card: Scapegoat!" The face-down card swung up at Joey's command, and a shimmering light started to glow from the card's art. One by one, four Sheep Tokens jumped out, each one a different color of red, pink, yellow and blue respectively. "You know what dat' means, Yuge: Four attacks for Panther Warrior! So I'm going to do just 'dat! I sacrifice one of 'dem to attack your face-down card!" The yellow Sheep Token floating around Panther Warrior turned to blue energy, and it embedded itself in Panther Warrior's armor, causing the monster to glow for a moment before fading. "Panther Warrior, attack!"

With a fierce roar, Panther Warrior dashed forward, holding its sword at its side as it closed the distance between itself and the face-down card on Yami's side of the field. As it approached, the card flipped face-up, and a man with tanned skin and wild black hair appeared, and quickly ducked under a massive and sturdy shield that covered his entire body (ATK/100 DEF/2600). The sword struck the shield and sparks flew from the impact, but the monster wasn't destroyed, and Panther Warrior simply bounced off the shield.

 **Yugi:** 3250

 **Joey:** 7200

"Nice try, Joey, but my Big Shield Gardna stopped your Panther Warrior right in its tracks," Yugi stated boldly with a grin as the Pharaoh's monster was forced back from the impact of the attack as well, knocking its shield off to the side.

"Well, I suppose 'dat was my fault fa' telling you not 'ta go easy on me," Joey joked, pulling a card from his hand. "I summon Swordsman of Landstar in defense mode, Set a card and end my turn." A sideways card appeared beside Panther Warrior – on the opposite side of the Sheep Tokens – and from it, a small fairy creature dressed in a tunic carrying a comically large sword in one hand and a shield with its own face on it appeared (ATK/500 DEF/1200). Crouching down, he raised his shield in front of his body as another face-down card appeared behind it, signaling the end of Joey's turn.

"It's my turn. Are you ready, Joey?" Yugi asked, pulling the top card from his deck. Looking down at it, he smiled, knowing his faith in the heart of the cards did not fail him. "I sacrifice Big Shield Gardna..." Smoke rose from the ground all around the Warrior monster, completely enveloping him. The swirling smoke soon faded, and in his place, crouching in midair was a young girl with flowing blonde hair under her pink and blue cap. Bouncing up, she waved the staff in her hand, which caused the brim of the hat to fall over her face, but she frowned and quickly fixed it before giving a wink with her large blue eyes (ATK/2000 DEF/1700). "...and summon Dark Magician Girl!"

Seeing one of Yugi's best monsters, the confidence in Joey's eyes wavered slightly as his teeth pulled at his bottom lip. "And now, I'll attack with her!" Already preparing to attack, Dark Magician girl raised her staff above her head with both of her arms as pink energy appeared around the end. "Destroy Swordsman of Landstar! Dark Burning Attack!" With an effeminate cry, Dark Magician Girl threw her wand down, and the pink energy fired off at Joey's monster in the form of an orb. The orb collided with Joey's comic character and destroyed it.

"I now activate my face-down card: the Quick-Play card Magical Dimension!" Holding a hand forward, the card at Yugi's feet rose into the air, and Joey let out a gasp, eyes widening as an iron maiden appeared from the ground and structured itself behind the Dark Magician Girl. "With this, I'm able to Special Summon a Spellcaster-type Monster from my hand!"

Panic started to fill Joey's chest, and though he tried to stay calm, his eyes narrowed as the coffin opened up, sucking Dark Magician Girl inside before closing. _What should I do?_ He thought as smoke began to rise out from the crack in the middle. Finally, the golden coffin opened slowly, and the adrenaline and anticipation seemed to make it open even more slowly.

"Come forth... Dark Magician!" A bright light lit up the inside of the coffin, opening a gate. The light became too much for Joey to bear, and he looked away, grimacing and shielding his eyes. When he was able to look again, the iron maiden and its structure had crumbled on the ground, and floating in the air, standing with his arms crossed and a smile on his face, a magician dressed in purple robes and wielding a green staff looked at Joey (ATK/2500 DEF/2100).

 _Yugi's Dark Magician finally came out..._ Joey thought, looking upon the Spellcaster as a bead of sweat appeared at his hairline.

"That's not all," Yugi spoke up, breaking Joey out of his thoughts. "Because of Magical Dimension, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field, so I'll destroy one of your Sheep Tokens!" From the crumbled iron maiden, a single gem from the statue's head fired forth a beam that connected with the blue Sheep Token, destroying the peaceful creature. Joey had barely recovered from that when he heard the wind being whipped around, and saw Yugi's Dark Magician twirling around its staff with both hands. "Dark Magic Attack!" The battlefield all around Joey turned inverted, and an erratic beam of energy was fired from the orb at the end of Dark Magician's staff at Panther Warrior. The powerful spell collided and destroyed his monster.

 **Yugi:** 3250

 **Joey:** 6700

"Man... what am I going to do..." Joey muttered, his nervousness showing on his face in the form of a stern look as he drew his next card.

It was different looking at the Dark Magician when Yugi was dueling Pegasus, Kaiba, or even Marik, but facing both of them himself... that was a different story. Not only that, but in a single turn, Yugi had managed to destroy three of his monsters, leaving him with two Sheep Tokens remaining.

Looking down at his newly-drawn card, blue eyes met the holographic card art of Jinzo, and while it helped him a lot in the past, it wouldn't help him against Yugi's Dark Magician. "I set a card face-down and end my turn." As a face-down card appeared at his feet beside his other face-down Trap Card, he silently shook in anticipation for Yugi's next move.

"It's my turn!" Yami announced, pulling the top card from his deck. He looked at it for a second before looking onto the battlefield. "Dark Magician, attack one of the Sheep Tokens!" Twirling his staff in his hand, he pointed the end of it forward. "Dark Magic Attack!" An orb of yellow electricity blasted out of the gem in the staff, soaring at the blue Sheep Token and destroying it.

Joey drew his next card, and like last turn, set a card face-down in the Spell/Trap Zone and ended his turn.

"Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack!" Yugi ordered as he drew his next card. Pointing his staff ahead, the Dark Magician fired a blast of yellow magic at the final Sheep Token, destroying it. "I Set a card face-down and end my turn."

"'Den it's my turn!" Joey cried. Drawing, he let out a sigh of relief and looked ahead at Yugi and his monster. "And I summon Little-Winguard in defense mode!" A sideways card formed, and from it rose a small creature completely covered in blue and turquoise armor (ATK/1400 DEF/1800). The Warrior monster with wings on his shield and armor knelt down with his shield up in a defensive position. "I'll end my turn."

"It seems I've backed you into a corner, Joey," Yami stated. "Draw!" Pulling his card and adding it to his hand, he looked ahead and pointed at Joey's monster. "Now Dark Magician, attack!" Leaning forward, Dark Magician pointed his staff ahead and blue magic started to gather at the end of it.

"Not this time, pal!" Joey interrupted, pressing a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate a Trap! Kunai with Chain!" The pink card rose from its laying position, and instantly, a bladed weapon with a chain attached to it came shooting out of the card art, wrapping itself around the Dark Magician and tying its chains tightly around it so the wizard couldn't break free or complete its attack. "This Trap stops your monster's attack by changing it to defense mode!" With a quick pull from an unseen creature from behind the card, the Dark Magician was forced down to a kneeling position, though it still struggled hard to try and break free of its metal bindings.

"Are you okay, Dark Magician?" Yugi asked his monster. Though the purple-haired mage didn't respond, the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle knew there was nothing else he could do this turn. "I end my turn."

"Draw!" Looking at the card he had just drew, Joey gave a small smile. His luck was finally turning around once again. "I activate the Spell Card: Pot of Greed! With it, I'll draw twice from my Deck!" Placing the card in the Duel Disk, his screen gave him the go-ahead to draw two cards. Adding them to his hand, he looked ahead, already knowing what his next move would be. "Now, come forth, Jinzo!" On the field, Little-Winguard began to glow white, and it condensed into a small orb before growing larger and taller. When the light disappeared, a grotesque humanoid wearing green steel robes of steel and a mask and respirator over its mouth and face appeared with its arms crossed (ATK/2400 DEF/1500). Yugi's eyes widened as the Machine monster gave a mechanical sigh through its respirator as it appeared on the field, recognizing it as one of Joey's best monsters.

"Jinzo, attack Yugi's Dark Magician!" Joey ordered. Hearing his command, Jinzo uncrossed its arms and placed his fingers to his vein-covered temples. "Cyber Energy Shock!" Purple circles of psychic energy came pulsing out of the monster's forehead, and the attack hit Dark Magician.

"My Magician!" Yami cried as his Spellcaster let out a cry and shattered into a million pixels. He looked on with widened eyes as Joey stood with a smirk on his face.

"I end my turn, Yuge."

Regaining his composure, Yugi soon replaced his shocked look with a smile, looking on proudly at his opponent. "That was an excellent move, Joey. You managed to catch me off guard," he complimented as he drew his next card. "But I can't allow anyone to get away with destroying my Dark Magician; not even _you."_ Inserting a card into the bottom slot of his Duel Disk, he began. "Your Jinzo may be able to stop Trap Cards, but it does nothing against Spells. I activate the Spell Card Brain Control!" A holographic image of the card rose up, and in front of the card, a large brain appeared. "By paying 800 Life Points, I can take control of one of your monsters until the end of my turn! And I'll choose... your Jinzo!"

 **Yugi:** 2450

 **Joey:** 6700

With his payment complete, two hands made of green smoke reached out from the sides of the floating brain and snatched up Jinzo around the torso like a rag-doll. The monster struggled for only a moment before being pulled over to Yugi's side of the field. Eyes glowing brightly, Jinzo was turned around and the brain vanished. "Jinzo, attack your former master directly!" Putting its hands together, a dark mass of sparkling energy appeared in between them, and it threw the orb forward, exploding at Joey's feet.

 **Yugi:** 2450

 **Joey:** 4300

"Now that your Life Points are depleted, I activate my face-down card: Fiend's Sanctuary!" The only face-down card on Yugi's side of the field rose up, and at once, the space beside Jinzo formed a bright pentacle that spiraled the stray dust on the concrete. Purple smoke rose from the center of the circle, and after a moment, a small metallic monster rocking back and forth with its body – composed of metal balls – rose from the pentacle as well. "I Special Summon Metal Fiend Token!"

Joey looked on ahead at the creature, and noticed that his own image was reflecting off the Fiend's metallic body. _Since he's using it now... he must be plannin' on sacrificing it,_ Joey thought. Just as he had predicted, two rings of smoke appeared both of Yugi's monsters, and soon enveloped them both. But what came out of the smoke, Joey wasn't expecting.

The monster that appeared had black scales and was rather skinny despite its size. It looked down at Joey with blood red eyes, and bared its razor sharp teeth down at him (ATK/2400 DEF/2000). "Red-Eyes Black Dragon! The card that _you_ gave me, Joey!"

Pupils dilated as he stared up at his monster. It had been a long time since he had been face-to-face with his own card. Aside from the time when his mind had been taken over by Marik and his Millennium Rod, the only other time was when he Dueled against Rex Raptor. "Red-Eyes... Black... Dragon...!" the blond stuttered, fear causing his entire body to quiver.

"However, since that was my second Main Phase, I'll end my turn," Yugi concluded as Red-Eyes gave a deep growl. Attempting to swallow his fear, Joey's shaking hand reached for his Deck, and though the top card seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, he drew it anyways.

Adding it to his hand, he took in a deep breath and reached for another card. False confidence filling his face, he held it forward with a smirk. "Let's do this, Time Wizard!" A bright light appeared in front of him, and from the light, a small red clock with arms and legs appeared, carrying a staff similar to a wizard's staff (ATK/500 DEF/400). Despite the monster's small stature, Yami couldn't help but hold his breath at the sight of the monster. Like the Red-Eyes Black Dragon to Yugi, Time Wizard was a monster given from Yugi to Joey on their very first adventure. And though it was risky, the little magician had gotten Joey through very hard times in the past.

"Time Roulette, activate!" Joey declared.

"Time Magic!" the clock-shaped wizard spoke mechanically, and it held its staff up. At the top, an arrow began to spin around six spots. Four of the spots had skulls on them, while the top and bottom spots had engines on them. The ability was strictly luck-based, so both Duelists watched the roulette in silent anticipation as it spun around and around. Finally, the arrow began to slow down, ticking like a clock would as it passed over each spot. Each Duelist held their breath, Joey looking on with an eager look on his face, but sweat trickling down his face while the Pharaoh stared in concentration.

The arrow stopped, landing on the engine spot to the top... but only for a brief second before giving one last tick and landing on a skull. A low-pitched noise sounded from the staff, and Joey's eye twitched. "What?!" he whined, his heart dropping in his chest. High in the sky above Time Wizard, a time warp appeared and began circling wind around Joey's monster. Time Wizard looked up for a moment before exploding into pixels by its own ability.

 **Yugi:** 2450

 **Joey:** 4050

Dwelling on the loss of his only monster for just a few more moments, Joey placed a fourth card face-down in his Spell/Trap Card Zone and ended his turn. _I don't have a single monster on the field! 'Dis is really bad!_ Joey thought, now starting to sweat even more. Yugi, however, looked relieved at the outcome of events.

"Draw!" he declared, ripping his card out from his deck. Adding it to his hand, he pointed forward. "Attack! With Inferno Fire Blast!" Opening its maw, Red-Eyes let out a roar before forming an orb of red flames sparkling with black static and firing it at its former owner.

"Now's my chance!" Joey shouted, reaching a hand out at the card in front of him. "I activate Nutrient Z!" The image of the card rose up at his feet as he pressed a button on his Duel Disk. "If I'm about 'ta take damage of two-thousand Life Points or more, I gain four-thousand Life Points beforehand!"

 **Yugi:** 2450

 **Joey:** 8050

His Life Points rose as the card in front of him disappeared, but no sooner had they rose did the bullet of fire hit Joey's feet, exploding around him.

 **Yugi:** 2450

 **Joey:** 5650

Eyebrows clashing together in annoyance as he looked at Joey's Life Points, he let out a light sigh. _He has more Life Points now then when I first attacked him,_ Yugi thought. _This is turning out to be quite a difficult duel indeed._ Giving one last look at his hand, he set a card at the bottom of his Duel Disk. "I Set one card face down and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Pleading in his head for a good card, Joey's eyes were glued shut as he ripped the top card from his Deck, and with one final plea, he opened it and looked at the new card. Reading the text, a huge smile spread across his face, and he immediately activated it. "I'll use the Spell Card Monster Reborn! And with it, I'll be bringing back... your Summoned Skull!" Like Yugi's on his first turn, a large image of the card appeared before Joey, and a bright vortex of golden light spun out of the card's art. In the center of the vortex, Yugi's Summoned Skull appeared and gave a loud snarl (ATK/2500 DEF/1200).

"Summoned Skull, attack Red-Eyes!" Joey ordered.

"Not so fast!" Yami declared suddenly. "I activate my Trap Card: Spellbinding Circle!" Before Summoned Skull could even gather the energy for its lightning attack, Yugi's card rose up, and a hexagram of light appeared around the Fiend Monster's waist, causing it to freeze in place. "This Trap seals Summoned Skull's movements, preventing it from attacking or changing battle positions!"

"What?!" Joey yelled in shock. But with nothing else left to do, he ended his turn.

"My turn!" Drawing from his deck, Yugi placed the card he drew on the field in defense mode. "I Summon Queen's Knight in defense mode!" Crouching down as she appeared, a woman with long blonde hair with red armor decorated with the four suits in a normal playing card deck formed and held up her shield (ATK/1500 DEF/1600). Staring at his frozen Summoned Skull, the Pharaoh knew that despite it being sealed, his Red-Eyes wouldn't be able to defeat it, so he ended his turn with that.

Drawing his own card at the start of his turn, there wasn't a single move that Joey could make, so he simply skipped his turn, allowing Yugi to draw once again. "I activate the Spell Card Pot of Greed!" Inserting the card in the bottom of his Duel Disk, the screen flashed 'DRAW TWO'. "I can draw two cards from my Deck." Pulling his two cards, he turned back to the battle. "I switch Queen's Knight to attack mode, and then I summon King's Knight in attack mode!" On the other side of Red-Eyes, a blond bearded knight donning bronze armor and a long cape appeared and readied his sword (ATK/1600 DEF/1400). "When the King and the Queen are on the field, I can Special Summon _this guy_ as well," Yugi explained, going through his Deck and retrieving another card before placing it onto his Duel Disk. A younger knight than the previous two, this one donned blue armor and looked at Joey with calm, blue eyes (ATK/1900 DEF/1000). "Jack's Knight!" Giving his Deck a quick shuffle, the Pharaoh ended his turn.

Drawing his card, Joey studied the field before him carefully. Yugi currently had four monsters on the field, all of them weaker than his Summoned Skull, but knowing it was the only thing saving his hide. Biting his lip, he placed a card face-down in his Spell/Trap Zone. "I end my turn."

"My turn!" Yami declared. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and looking out ahead at Joey, a fire seeming to burn in his purple hues. "Noble Faces, become my sacrifice!" The Three Musketeers of Face Cards all huddled together back to back, and disappeared one after the other. First Jack's Knight disappeared in a blue light, and then Queen's Knight in pink before King's Knight did the same in gold. "I summon... Slifer the Sky Dragon!"

Slapping the card down on the Duel Disk, sparks danced off the machine around the card as it tapped into the ancient magic of the Millennium Puzzle. High in the sky, a bright pink light emerged, seeming to appear from behind the dark clouds that gathered so suddenly. The light took the shape of wings that spread and formed a circle before merging into a portal that fired a pink beam of energy behind Yami. The bright light hit with a crash, and eventually formed into a massive dragon with ruby-red scales. The dragon coiled in the air, its black underbelly reflecting the lights from the city below, and it released a bone-shattering roar from its jaw as it raised its head and glared at Joey, letting out a breath of threatening smoke (ATK/3000 DEF/3000).

"Yugi's God Card...!" Joey breathed, his blood running cold through his veins as he looked up at the massive dragon. The way it looked down at him was enough to make him want to lose consciousness right there, and he immediately had flashbacks to when he fought against Marik and _his_ God Card, The Winged Dragon of Ra. He had barely survived that.

"Here I go!" the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle declared, clutching his fist. "Attack him, Slifer! Thunder Force!" Opening its bottom jaw, golden energy began to gather in between its razor-sharp teeth, and Joey could only look on, paralyzed in fear as it fired a beam of ancient energy at his monster. Shaking his head, he quickly waved an arm as if waving the fear away.

"I activate my Trap Card: Magical Arm Shield!" The card rose up, and a long extending Ultra Hand toy made of wood reached out fast as lightning and snatched up Red-Eyes Black Dragon from across Summoned Skull. "Now I can change the attack target to Red-Eyes instead!" Retracting backwards, the toy was pulled back just as Slifer's attack reached it.

 **Yugi:** 2450

 **Joey:** 5050

Red-Eyes let out a fierce roar of pain as it was obliterated by the Egyptian God Card, and flames kicked up all around Joey from the intensity of the attack. Even though the Duel Disk was projecting holograms, Joey knew – especially from Battle City – that the Egyptian God Cards weren't something to mess with, and flinched back as red hot flames threatened to lick his arms. The intensity of the heat was almost life-like. " _Joey!"_ the younger Yugi screamed, his silhouette appearing beside his counterpart, but though he reached his arm out, he knew that Joey couldn't see him.

"I end my turn," Yami stated coldly as the flames died down. Though he looked unsympathetic, his heart beat for his friend, but knew that Joey would accept nothing less. _Don't give up, Joey,_ he thought as he watched his best friend recover from the attack.

"I haven't lost yet!" Joey shouted, eyebrows coming together in determination. Hearing these words, Yami's cold face melted, a genuine smile forming on his normally hardened face. "If I lose here, what am I gonna tell the guys who I fought 'dat paved 'dis path for me? Each one of 'em fought me 'till the very end without giving up!" Hearing this, the two spiky-haired Duelists shared a glance, smiling at each other and nodding.

"Draw!" Pulling the top card from his Deck, he immediately pressed a button on the bottom of his Duel Disk, causing another card near his feet to rise up. "I activate my Trap Card: Graverobber!" The front of the card lit up, and from a silver vortex, a small creature with a cap over his eyes carrying a comically large pick-ax appeared and floated in front of his card.

"Oh no!" Yami gasped, eyes widening in surprise. "With that card, you can take any Spell Card I've already used!"

"Yup," Joey nodded. "And the card I'm taking from your Graveyard is... Monster Reborn!" The card immediately was plucked out of Yugi's Graveyard, and Joey immediately placed it into his Duel Disk. "Now I'm gonna activate it, and with it, I'll bring back Red-Eyes Black Dragon from your Graveyard!" A vortex of light appeared from the ground, and the familiar black-scaled dragon rose up, letting out a screech as it breathed air once again (ATK/2400 DEF/2000). However, because Joey activated the Spell that he took from Graverobber, his Life Points were depleted.

 **Yugi:** 2450

 **Joey:** 3050

"Not so fast, Joey!" Yami interrupted as Slifer ducked down to stare at the summoned Red-Eyes. "Slifer's Special Ability activates! Lightning Blast!" Opening its second mouth, Slifer fired a barrage of purple fireballs at Red-Eyes, and the monster let out a roar as its attack points were depleted (ATK/400 DEF/2000).

"I'm not done yet, Yuge!" Joey spoke up, a smirk appearing on his face as he pulled another card from his hand. "I'll also activate Polymerization!" Inserting the card in the bottom of his Duel Disk, Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes began to move towards each other. A spiraling portal appeared between them, and both creatures were sucked inside, but only Red-Eyes could be seen.

Through the light, Yugi saw Red-Eyes skinny body slowly growing more bulky, and its color changing into a more lighter color. Its skinny arms and legs bulked up, gaining the muscle and gray armor of Summoned Skull. "'Dis is my trump card-" Finally, horns grew from the monster's gray head, and it let out a massive roar. "-Black Skull Dragon!" (ATK/3200 DEF/2500) However, the monster crouched down, crossing its claws as it assumed a defense position.

"What?!" Yugi stuttered, looking up at the monster for a moment.

"Finally, I summon Battle Warrior in defense mode and end my turn!" Joey concluded, placing a card from his hand onto the top of his Duel Disk. Next to B. Skull Dragon, a small, buff fighter wearing blue tights crouched down with his arms crossed in front of his body (ATK/700 DEF/1000).

 _So it's a plan to lure me into attacking him?_ Yugi thought, staring at the two monsters placed in defense mode before him, but he smirked. _Very well. I'll take you on!_

"My turn! Draw!" Yami announced, pulling the top card from his Deck.

"I activate a Trap!" Joey interjected, pressing a button on his Duel Disk. The card rose up, revealing itself to be Drop Off. Seeing it and grimacing, Yugi discarded his newly-drawn Seven Tools of the Bandit. "Now Slifer's attack points won't raise up with another card in your hand."

"That may be," Yugi replied. "But my Egyptian God Card is still more than powerful enough to attack you! Slifer the Sky Dragon, attack!" Opening its mouth, energy started to gather in its bottom jaw, but Joey was quick to interject.

"I still have one last face-down card!" Joey announced, activating the card. "The Quick-play Spell Roulette Spider!" From the card art, a yellow and black spider with an arrow sticking out of the back of its abdomen jumped out and flew to the center of the arena. Flying out, the spider attached itself to the face of Slifer the Sky Dragon. "Roulette Spider, spin!" The arrow on its backside sticking straight out, a spiderweb appeared underneath Slifer's body, and at each end of the web was a card or player of the field: Joey, his Black Skull Dragon, his Battle Warrior, or Yugi.

Pulling hard on Slifer's face, the spider caused the Egyptian God Card to whip its head back and forth, and though it wasn't exactly spinning, energy was still gathering in its mouth, and it was apparent that the attack target would be random. "You know the routine, Yuge; it's up ta' you ta' tell Roulette Spider ta' stop, and whatever or _whoever_ Slifer stops on will be his new attack target!"

Yami's breath hitched in his throat as he stared up at the struggling dragon above. He had to call it at just the right time, because if he called it to stop when Slifer was aiming at _him,_ the Duel would be over. Staring with intensity burning in his eyes, the Pharaoh knew that Slifer could only gather energy for so long as well.

Suddenly, something in his gut clicked, and he pointed up at his monster. "Stop!" At his command, the spider jumped off Slifer just as it finished gathering energy for its Thunder Force attack. Silence overcame the battlefield as the target for Slifer's new attack became apparent: its golden gaze was cast upon Joey. "Then here I go! Slifer the Sky Dragon, attack Joey directly!" A blast of golden energy barreled out of Slifer's mouth, and the attach hit and enveloped Joey's entire body with a bang. Though he could not be seen, Joey's scream of pain echoed over the buildings.

 **Yugi:** 2450

 **Joey:** 50

The attack faded, and Joey stood, smoke rising from his body and the area around him where the Egyptian God's attack hit. He was slumped slightly, and he looked as though he had just run a marathon.

Trying to stay neutral, Yami chased away the feeling to ask Joey if he was all right, knowing in this Duel, he was an opponent. Pulling in a deep breath through his nose, the Pharaoh closed his eyes and let out the held air. "I end my turn."

For a while, Joey didn't say anything, and simply stood in place unmoving. Finally, he summoned enough energy to raise his arm. "My... turn..." he uttered out, the words coming out barely as a whisper. Two fingers fell on the back of his deck, and he pulled the card out from the Duel Disk weakly, holding it up to his eyes to look at it.

 _Don't give up until the last moment,_ Yugi encouraged silently, hoping with all his might that Joey could feel his words. _If there is the will, then there is hope._

Looking at the card in his hand, Joey's eyes widened slightly, but because of the memories flooding back into his mind. _'Dat's right! I made a promise wit' Red-Eyes and Yugi!_ he thought. _'Dat the moment I become a true Duelist..._

Summoning the energy to stand up straight, adrenaline coursed through his veins, and with newfound confidence, he switched his Fusion monster into attack mode. "Black Skull Dragon, attack with Molten Fireball Attack!" A ball of flames already starting to form in between its jaw, the attack gathered and it fired it once it got to a massive size, leaving a trail of fire in its wake as it flew at Slifer. The attack engulfed Yugi's Egyptian God Card, the pink fire seeming to light up the entire city of Domino. With one last roar of pain, the red dragon disappeared into ashes.

 **Yugi:** 2250

 **Joey:** 50

Using his arm to shield him from the dust, the Pharaoh turned back to his empty battlefield, but the corners of his lips were pulled upwards ever so slightly, hinting at a smile. _All right! Now th' match is back in my control!_ Joey thought as his friend tucked the deep red card in his Graveyard. "I place a card face-down and end my turn," the blond finished.

"Then it's my turn!" the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle said, drawing from his Deck. "I put a card face-down. That's all I can do." As a card appeared at the boy's feet, Joey drew from his Deck.

Not wasting any time, Joey smiled and clutched a fist in the air. "Black Skull Dragon, attack Yugi directly! Molten Fireball!" With a massive roar, Joey's monster took in a deep breath before spitting out a spiraling pink fireball enveloped in flames. "If 'dis attack goes through, I win!"

"You sure about that?" Yugi asked, confidence drawing a smirk on his face as he discarded a card to his Graveyard from his hand. A shimmering silver light appeared before him, and from it formed a small brown creature completely covered in fur, aside from its green arms, legs and large yellow and purple eyes.

"What?!" Joey exclaimed, watching as Kuriboh squeaked and jumped in between Yugi and Black Skull's attack. The flame attack exploded upon hitting and destroying the small creature, and Yugi stood unharmed. A frown pulling down his mouth, he Set a card. "I place a card face-down and end my turn."

"And the start of mine!" Yami declared, pulling from his Deck. Looking at the card, a smirk appeared on his face. "I still haven't shown you _all_ of my strength, Joey!"

Brown eyes narrowing at Yugi's words, Joey stared firmly at his opponent. "Come at me then!" he said, though his voice was a lot quieter than he had meant it to be.

"Each new card holds a new possibility!" Yugi began, inserting his newly drawn card into his Duel Disk. "A Duelist has as many possibilities as they have cards in their hand!" A green card rose up to Yugi's right, and he held his hand out to it. "I activate Double Spell!" Discarding the De-Spell in his hand for the card's cost, he continued. "This card lets me use any of the Spell Cards my opponent has used for this turn only!" The image of Double Spell faded away, and in its place was Joey's Monster Reborn. "Awaken! The soul of the magician sleeping in the Graveyard!" A single card was spit out of the Pharaoh's Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk, and he retrieved it and placed it onto the field. "Come out, Dark Magician!" His card appearing in front of Yugi, the magician in purple robes appeared in a flash of light, his arms crossed confidently in front of his chest as he floated in midair (ATK/2500 DEF/2100).

"Now I'll activate Polymerization!" Yami continued, and the card that was face-down on the field rose up, creating a portal.

"What...?!" Joey gasped, his breath catching in his throat.

"I fuse Dark Magician together with the Buster Blader!" Appearing beside the Dark Magician, a swordsman in dark armor that covered his entire body wielding a giant sword emerged as Yugi discarded the monster card from his hand. The two monsters began to glow light blue, and the lights merged together and shot straight up into the sky. A monster soon burst from the blue light, and wielding a bladed staff and donning turquoise robes, the blue skinned monster swung its weapon. "The mighty magic swordsman – Dark Paladin!" (ATK/3900 DEF/2400).

Dilated pupils looked up at the powerful Spellcaster floating above him. As with the Dark Magician and Slifer the Sky Dragon, it was different being a spectator and seeing one of Yugi's best monsters appear on the field than it was actually being stared down by him. "Dark Paladin! Attack Joey's Black Skull Dragon!" Yugi ordered, breaking Joey out of his thoughts. "Beyond Magic! Fierce Slashing Wave!" Holding its bladed staff up into the air, powerful magic started to gather around the blade, and the trees began to blow from the wind it gathered. Sparks danced around the white energy, and it fired waves of energy from the orb outwards all around it.

Shaking his head to break himself out of his thoughts, Joey quickly pressed a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate a Trap Card! Skull Dice!" As the card revealed itself, a small elf donning a black witch's cap and dressed in black holding a large red die appeared above the arena. "Now, whatever number my Skull Dice rolls, your monster will lose that number of attack and defense points times a hundred!" At his words, the small creature opened its hands, letting go of the red die and letting it roll on the floor.

The die seemed to fall and bounce in slow motion, and the two pairs of eyes were locked on its red and black features. Finally, the die stopped rolling, and it landed with six dots facing skyward. Looking up at his paladin, the Pharaoh saw the magic around its staff lessen considerably, but it still continued its attack (ATK/3300 DEF/1800). _I can't give up until the very end!_ Yami thought, but Joey wasn't done yet.

"Spell Card activate!" he declared, and his final face-down card rose up as well. "Graceful Dice!" The opposite of the evil elf before, this one donned angel wings on his pink top hat, and wore clothes of white and pink to show its goodness. In its arms, it carried not a red die, but a blue one. "This Spell is the opposite of Skull Dice; whatever it rolls, my monsters gain attack and defense points equal to it times one hundred!" Now the pressure was on, and as Graceful Dice opened its arms, sweat poured down both Duelists' faces as the blue and black die bounced off the pavement and rolled into the center of the battlefield. Seeming to roll in slow motion, Joey's face soon contorted into one of horror as the die landed with a single dot facing up, raising Black Skull Dragon's stats (ATK/3300 DEF/2600) and Battle Warrior's as well (ATK/800 DEF/1100).

Continuing its attack, Dark Paladin waved his scepter, sending a crescent blade of energy at Joey's B. Skull Dragon. At the same time, the Dragon monster opened its mouth, forming a shimmering fire ball in its maw and counterattacked, firing three fireballs that looked like flaming meteors. The two attacks collided, and though the crescent blade of energy was able to cut through the fire balls and hit B. Skull Dragon, it wasn't strong enough to destroy the completely, and Dark Paladin was hit with the remains of the Molten Fireballs, and both monsters were destroyed with an echoing explosion on both sides of the field.

"Alrighty! You just lost all the Monsters on your field!" Joey hurrahed.

 _As I expected from you, Joey,_ Yugi thought, a proud smile on his face. _Throughout Battle City, you've taken the steps to become a true Duelist!_ Unable to keep the look of joy off his face, the Pharaoh locked eyes with Joey. "I end my turn," he stated as Battle Warrior's stats went back to normal (ATK/700 DEF/1000).

"Draw!" he cried in response, ripping the top card from his deck. Looking at the card, a shadow fell over his face as he slowly placed the card down on his Duel Disk. _Yugi... I..._ Before him, a knight covered completely in black iron armor appeared (ATK/1800 DEF/1600).

 _Now come..._ Yugi urged, nodding to Joey as if giving his approval. Reaching down, Joey switched his Battle Warrior in attack mode as well.

"Battle Warrior, attack Yugi directly!" Upon his master's order, the man in blue raced forward, rearing back a fist before connecting it with Yugi's chest.

 **Yugi:** 1550

 **Joey:** 50

"Gearfried the Iron Knight..." Joey started, but trailed off, staring ahead at his friend. Taking in a deep breath, he summoned the courage to speak and smiled. "Attack! Metal Forearm Thrust!" The black metal monster leapt forward, pulling back his bladed arm as he closed the distance between himself and the Pharaoh, and drove the point of his blade into Yugi's chest.

The older boy let out a grunt and flinched, but opened his eyes as his Life Points dropped.

 **Yugi:** 0

 **Joey:** 50

The holograms faded, with Gearfried's weapon still sticking out of Yugi's chest, and the Duel Disks around their wrists deactivated. The two stood in silence for the longest time. Joey seemed to be in utter shock, and he stared out at Yugi, a million things racing through his mind, but unable to figure out how to say them or put them into words.

Instead, it was the Pharaoh who broke the silence, walking forward and holding out his hand. In between his index and middle finger, a card was held out for the blond. "Joey, this is your card." The Red-Eyes B. Dragon.

His thoughts finally slowing down as he looked down at the rare card, Joey smiled. "Thank you, Yugi." Instead of taking the card, however, he held out his hand, fingers lightly extended. Purple eyes looking down at the extended hand, lips curled upwards, and Yugi placed the card in the center of his hand before shaking Joey's.

"You are a true Duelist, Joey."

 **After finishing this, this makes me want to develop a Yu-Gi-Oh! story of my own. It's too bad I don't have the time or imagination to create an original story with original characters. Perhaps one day I'll take the cast from Duel Monsters and make a story.**

 **Anyways, I hope this was enjoyable for you to read, and as fun to do so as it was to write. It still astounds me that Joey was able to defeat Yugi, but I guess that just goes to show how much development his character got in Battle City. I'm just glad I got to write the Dark Magician.**

 **I'm sure there were points where it got repetitive, and I apologize, but it was difficult to find ways to bounce from turn to turn. But this was really good practice for some point in the future.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


End file.
